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Recently buy a pet frog and unsure what to name it? Don't worry — while all frog species are different, there are many ways to tell male and females apart that are true for the majority of frogs. Learn what to look for in your tree frog's appearance and behavior to tell its sex in seconds!

Steps

Method1

Appearance Clues

1

Measure its size. For most species of frog, males are noticeably smaller than females. Tree frogs generally range from 1-5.5 inches (3-14 centimeters) depending on the precise species.[1]. Females are typically about half an inch longer and slightly heavier than males of the same species.

The reason for this has to do with the way frogs mate. Males have to climb all the way onto females' backs to mate, so the female has to be larger so that the male's weight doesn't hurt her.[2]

2

Look for the presence of a vocal sac. Since male frogs do the vast majority of the croaking (more on this below), they usually have specially-constructed throats designed for this purpose. Most male frogs (including tree frogs) have something called a "vocal sac" on their throats. This sac can inflate full of air like a balloon when the frog croaks. When the frog isn't croaking, the deflated sac may make the skin on the throat seem more thin and baggy than on female frogs.[3]

In addition, the skin of the vocal sac will often be a different color than the rest of the underside. Yellowish or black shades are common.

3

Check the size of the ears. Instead of having ears that stick out from their heads like humans, frogs' ears are flat discs of skin on the sides of their heads behind their eyes. These discs are sometimes (but not always) a different color than the skin around them. Male frogs tend to have ears that are larger than their eyes. By contrast, female frogs tend to have ears that are about the same size as their eyes (or slightly smaller.[4]

4

Look for pads next to the thumbs. Male frogs (including tree frogs) often have special features on their hands and arms that make it easier to cling to female frogs' backs for mating purposes. For example, male frogs sometimes have a patch of rough, raised flesh on each of their thumbs. If the thumb seems to be larger and thicker than the other digits, especially at its base, the frog is probably a male.

This feature may be difficult to see except in the breeding season, when it enlarges in time for mating.

5

Look for less-common differences in appearance. There are many other external features that can vary between male and female frogs. A few of these are listed below.[5] These vary between species: some frogs may have them and others may not. Some are also time-dependant — for example, the hand hooks described below often develop only during the mating season.

Some male frogs will have thicker arms with more noticeable muscle definition.

Some male frogs will develop hook-shaped adornments on their hands used for gripping onto females for mating purposes.

In some species, male frogs will have rougher skin (sometimes with small spines) while female frogs will have smooth skin.

Method2

Behavior Clues

1

Listen for croaking at night. Male frogs are the ones who seem to croak at night without stopping. They do this to attract mates around breeding spots — female frogs use the calls of the males to determine which ones are healthiest and most attractive. Females, on the other hand, don't usually make much noise.[6] .

This isn't to say that female frogs don't make any noise. Female frogs may occasionally croak or call out in response to something else. For instance, female frogs will "scream" when grabbed by a predator. However, they won't croak constantly at night like most male frogs.

2

Look for "humping" behavior. There's no nice way to say this — male frogs will occasionally "hump" things. In other words, they will climb onto something, grasp it with their forelegs, and press the underside of their bodies against it tight. They often won't use an obvious "thrusting" motion like a male dog, but their intention should be obvious.

This isn't just restricted to female frogs (although this is often the case). Male frogs may "hump" or hug objects like plants or rocks. They may even hump other male frogs. Female frogs, however, will not hump.

3

Learn which behaviors aren't indicative of sex. Some behaviors may seem like things that only male or female frogs would do, but in fact are not. A few of these are listed below:[7]

Both male and female frogs will defend themselves or attempt to run if threatened.

Both male and female frogs shed skin.

Both male and female frogs will attempt to camouflage themselves against similarly-colored things.

Male and female frogs of the same species have the same diet.

4

When all else fails, ask an experienced breeder or a veterinarian. It's not always easy to tell male and female tree frogs apart, especially if you are dealing with a very small species or a species without obvious male/female appearance variations. In these cases, you may want to consult an expert. Biologists, amphibian experts, veterinarians, and similar professionals can all be valuable resources.

If you live near a pond or creek, they are commonly found in the shallow end. During breeding season, there will be multiple tadpoles. Keep the tadpoles until they turn into frogs. The size of the tadpoles will vary the size of the frog, thus, small tadpoles will be small frogs, and large tadpoles will be large frogs.

Tips

Looking for a frog's genitals is not usually a good way to tell its sex. Male frogs' testicles are inside their bodies like ovaries, making it difficult (if not impossible) to determine a frog's sex simply by looking between its legs.[8]

In some species of tree frogs, males and females have consistently different color patterning (i.e., females are one color and males are another). However, this varies from species to species and is untrue for many tree frogs. If you are unsure about your frog, look up its species in a biological encyclopedia.

Most male frogs have mud colored throats. When the female is ready to mate the throat is speckled with brown.

To tell if your tree frog is male or female, measure its size, since females are typically half an inch larger than males. Next, check whether your frog has a vocal sack on its throat, which may look like baggy skin, because only males have vocal sacks. If you're still unsure, look out for specific behaviors that identify a male frog, such as croaking at night or humping objects. To learn what common behaviors are not unique to male or female frogs, read on!

Article Info

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 37 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Together, they cited 8 references.

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 281,624 times.

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About This Article

11 votes - 67%

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67% of people told us that this article helped them.

Co-authors: 37

Updated: April 15, 2019

Views: 281,624

AB

Ashley Barkmen

Oct 12, 2017

"I found a frog in my backyard and caught it just to look, then I put it in a shoe box and cut some holes in it and thought that was good. Now I got a Critter Keeper cage for her and feed her baby crickets and fruit flies, and she is so happy in her new habitat."..." more

Rated this article:

A

Anonymous

May 1, 2017

"I did not know the differences between male and female frogs. Many live in my goldfish pond; however, some become house guests when I winterize my bromeliad plants. The frogs live inside the leaves, which hold water. In the spring, they are moved outdoors!"..." more

BS

Bernice Smith

Jul 25, 2017

"It was so helpful, every single step that you need to care for them. The whole article was fabulous, very good reading. I read every single piece of it right to the end. Thank you so much for the information and making it simple to understand, great job!"..." more

Rated this article:

LG

Liz Gardner

Jul 19, 2017

"I think these topics on frogs are great. They are easy to understand and give a great amount of info needed to assist in learning about the type of frogs that a person may be interested They also can help determine if you want to get and keep frogs."..." more

LJ

L. J.

Feb 12, 2018

"What an awesome post! Thank you! This will help me figure out if our frogs are boys or girls, so we can remove all the ones of one sex so tadpoles from the same gene-pool don't end up breeding together."..." more

JO

Jenipfer Osif

Feb 1, 2017

"Measuring the length of my Whites tree frog, Kermit and the differences in the appearance of his feet. He does croak, but not constantly throughout the night. Mainly he croaks when we speak to him. "..." more

JK

Josh Kribell

Apr 3, 2017

"I just needed to find ways to tell if a frog was male or female. I failed a test and couldn't dissect the frogs, so my teacher told me to find 5 ways to tell if a frog was male or female. I got 7."..." more

Rated this article:

G

Gracie

Jul 5, 2017

"The one part said about size for mating purposes and the "humping" one, I had a frog do that to my finger. Also one about the croaking, I have a bunch of frogs that do that at my house."..." more

AF

Alexis Foster

Aug 27, 2016

"My coworker found a frog at the house we work in. She told me to get it for the kids. We didn't know what kind of frog it was or the gender. The articles saved me a trip to PetSmart."..." more

FN

Fran Nolting

May 28, 2017

"This little guy is back for the 3rd year in a row. He was opening and closing his mouth so I Googled it. Haven't noticed this in years past nor noticed any shedding. "..." more

Rated this article:

AB

Alize Baby

Jul 11, 2016

"In general it was a good article! Very helpful and informational because now I know that I have both a male and a female!"..." more

A

Anonymous

Nov 3, 2016

"The most helpful tip was to determine the frog's gender by comparing the size of the ears to that of the eyes."

JS

Jim Snyder

May 15, 2018

"The diagrams and pictures were very helpful! And, of course, the written information was excellent too!"

JR

Jo Rooms

Jun 23, 2017

"I found a pond of baby tadpoles that are now frogs, now I know which ones are boys and girls."

Rated this article:

A

Anonymous

Aug 24, 2017

"I'm thinking about getting an American green tree frog, so the info has been really helpful."

BV

Breanna V.

Sep 6, 2017

"I really found the appearance and tips helpful for my new American green tree frog. Thanks!"

MF

Marla Flood

Jun 6, 2016

"The size of the ears let me know my frogs are female and they aren't vocal at night."